This invention relates to the field of custom bottle openers generally, and more particularly to small and light weight bottle opener that may be attached to and cooperate to remove bottle cap(s) with a strap and/or a collar. The collar and/or strap may be used for small domestic animals, such as a dog or cat collar(s), harness, muzzle, leash extender, etc., and be capable of opening a bottler with the bottle opener that are well suited for and may be used in combination with a strap, collar, leash, etc.
Collars and straps have many different purposes and may be attached to, combined with, and/or used with various different items, e.g., a pet harness, leash, backpack, such that the present invention may have numerous different applications in practice, but may have important characteristics including being small, compact, and/or lightweight while still being effective at removing a bottle cap from a bottle or opening a bottle by enabling a user to pry a bottle cap off of a closed bottle (e.g., a soda or beer bottle), regardless of what the bottle opener may be attached to. For example, with domesticated small animals, such as dogs and cats, the dogs or cats may wear, for example, a collar(s) and/or strap(s) (e.g., part of a dog or cat harness) coupled to them. Further, such pet collars and harnessed may serve both a functional and aesthetic purpose for the owners of the pets and the pets themselves. A collar may also provide a means for connecting a leash to the animal. Often the collar may include, for example, a D-ring to facilitate the selective coupling of a leash to the collar to control or walk the pet. The D-ring may also serve as a hanging device for attaching, for example, an identification tag. In any case, regardless of the application, the bottle opener may be attached to something.
Far-removed from the art of animal collars, bottle openers were developed to open a variety of bottles, including those with caps that are crimped to seal in the contents, whether it be beer, soda, or other liquids. Openers are available in many different designs, including hand held, wall mounted, vending machine mounted, as well as other styles.
The incorporation of a bottle opener into a device that can be worn on a person is known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,185,772 and 4,135,267 describe belt-buckle bottle openers. One attempt to combine a dog collar with a bottle opener is a collar sold under the brand name of Wander Collar by Kurgo available at www.kurgo.com. However, these known devices have several shortcomings: Specifically, the combination belt and bottle opener are generally difficult to use because the bottle-prying feature aligns perpendicular to the long-axis of the belt. Thus, when attempting to open a bottle while worn, the opener causes the belt to twist and this twisting makes opening the bottle difficult or impossible. Further, this twisting is uncomfortable to the wearer. In other devices, the entire belt must be removed for the belt-buckle opener to function as an opener—this is often impractical so such devices are worn as a gag or statement, and fail to work as a utilitarian bottle opener and belt. The Kurgo Wander Collar has many shortcomings in addition to the similar shortcomings just discussed relative to belt-bottle openers. For example, the Wander collar has many sharp crags and edges that can catch on articles and can readily cause injury to the dog or person handling the dog and because of the alignment of the pry-hook, it too is difficult to use as an opener when worn as a collar as there is insufficient space to grip the opener when worn on the dog's neck and there is no resistance provided by the collar due to the orientation of the opener relative to the collar.
Yet another problem not contemplated in the art of dog collars and generally overlooked in human apparel is the amount of human-generate scrap material that ends up in land fills and is otherwise wasted and adds to the global green-house gas production and increases humankind's carbon footprint. Therefore, there is a need to re-use and/or reclaim any portion of this scrap to reduce the environmental impact new products, including dog collars, cause. One overlooked solution is to re-use discarded rubber products, such as bicycle inner tubes, which are particularly difficult to dispose as they do not quickly degrade or deteriorate, and due to the high petroleum content, pose a serious risk of fire, smoke and air pollution if left in scrap piles. Further, butyl rubber cannot be recycled with other plastics or household waste. The relative low cost of virgin-raw material makes traditional recycling cost prohibitive.
Yet another problem with existing dog collars, which are typically constructed of either leather or nylon, is the time required for the collars to dry after becoming wet. This often causes the material to deteriorate, allow bacteria to grow and become malodorous.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved bottle opener designs that may be used in combination with, for example, pet collar(s) and/or straps attached to various items, particularly where the bottle opener is designed so that improves upon the current art and has improved performance in opening a bottle and/or size or profile. Other areas of improvement may be, for example, a collar should use recycled material to reduce the environmental impact on the planet. Further, such a device should be operable as a bottle opener when worn without causing distress or pain to the wearer. Also, such a device should be free from sharp edges and crags, but may also serve as a means for hanging an identification tag and/or as a coupling member or attachment member to attach or link another item to it, for example, for attaching a leash to a collar, a harness, a leash, or any other item useful in the particular application. Further, in the case of, for example, a collar, the collar should be made of materials that will dry quickly, resist odors, and be soft and comfortable to wear.